Doris Youngstrom Pedersen
Born: March 7th, 1925
Died: November 19th, 2013
Obituary
Doris Youngstrom Pedersen passed away on November 19, 2013 at Meth---Wick Community in Cedar Rapids, IA.
Doris Mae Dickey was born on March 7, 1925 in Burlington, Iowa, the only child of Harry Ludwig and Althea Jacks Dickey. She showed an early aptitude and love for music cultivated through piano lessons with Marian Baumle, cello lessons with Dorothy Baumle, and music studies with Phyllis McAdams.
She attended Burlington High School where she played cello in the orchestra and was piano soloist and accompanist in many performances. Doris attended Northwestern University School of Music in Evanston, IL, graduating with a BS Degree in Music Education in 1946. She was a member of the Tri Delta Sorority and Sigma Alpha Iota, a national professional music sorority for women.
From 1946 to 1948 Doris taught music and conducted the student orchestra at the La Grange, IL Middle School and then taught kindergarten at North Hill Elementary in Burlington for two years. She married Ralph Youngstrom on Oct 30, 1948. They shared an active, community---oriented, family centered life in Burlington for 46 years primarily in a house they built overlooking the beautiful Mississippi River. She and Ralph had four children. Ralph passed away in 1996.
Doris married Carl Pedersen in February 1998. They shared companionship and dedication to each other until Carl passed away in 2010.
Doris was the organist at the First Christian Church in Burlington for ten years. She was the organist at Messiah Lutheran Church from 1963 to 1993. During those years she taught piano lessons to many Burlington youngsters. Doris performed with Bel Canto for 20 years and also with the Southeast Iowa Symphony. She was the organist for many recitals, weddings and funerals, both at Messiah Lutheran and many other area churches.
Doris was a member of the PEO Sisterhood, the Burlington Fine Arts League, and the Hetta Gilbert Auxiliary. She served as President on the YWCA Board in the 1970s and was on the Board of Directors for the Burlington Medical Center from 1972 to 1978. Doris enjoyed sewing beautiful clothing for her family. She knit many Afghans as gifts for family, friends, and charity events. She truly enjoyed cooking, entertaining, and making birthdays and holidays very special. Additional interests were bridge, golfing, tennis, and Minnesota family fishing vacations. She was known for her high---energy approach to life, her love of family and friends, and her generosity.
Her parents, her husband's Ralph and Carl, and Ralph's two sisters, preceded her in death.
Those who survive to honor her include her four children, Christine Youngstrom of Burlington, IA, Carolyn Youngstrom (Lynn) Scheer of Marion, IA, Cathryn Youngstrom of St. Augustine, FL, Charles (Sandy) Youngstrom of Naperville, IL; and nine grandchildren, Carrie (Nate) Kellogg, Jennifer (Brad) Dockendorf, Alex (Megan) Scheer and Brian (special friend Julie Lenzen) Scheer, Emily and Torrey Coates, and Christopher, Eric and Kelly Youngstrom; four great grandchildren, Brennen and Kaylin Dockendorf, Hannah and Weston Kellogg; and seven nieces and nephews.
A Celebration of Life Service will be at Messiah Lutheran Church on January 11, 2014. A memorial fund has been established for Messiah Lutheran Church.